St James's R.C. Church, Ballynadrentagh Road, Aldergrove, Crumlin, Co Antrim

St James's Roman Catholic Church stands in a rural setting at Aldergrove, Crumlin, County Antrim, facing the main road from a corner site within its own grounds. The building is cruciform in plan, comprising a nave, transepts, and an eastern projection containing a shallow chancel and sacristy, with the main entrance facing west.

The church is roofed in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses with black ridge tiles. Walls are rendered with wet dash of crushed stones and painted white, with a projecting rendered eaves course and a projecting smooth cement rendered plinth painted black. Rainwater goods have not yet been fixed in place. Stone crosses sit on the apex of each gable, painted white, with new lead dressing to the base of each. The west gable features a small circular window above a flat-roofed projecting porch. The porch is newly rendered but not yet painted, with a lead covering to the roof and dressing to the cornice. The main entrance is a large rectangular doorway in the centre of the west face of the porch, a new opening with doors not yet fixed. One small window is set in each side wall of the porch; these are new Gothic-headed timber fixed lights, 6-paned with tracery lights, replacing original doorways. They have projecting concrete cills and smooth cement render to reveals with smooth rendered arris.

The nave contains two windows in each side wall. These are original Gothic-headed timber sliding sashes, vertically hung with 3 over 6 panes, featuring horns with intersecting glazing bars to tracery lights. They have projecting sandstone cills painted white, with reveals and arris finished as in the porch windows. The transepts each have one window in their side walls, original and matching those in the nave. The transept gables are blank except for two newly created circular ventilation holes in each, positioned just below the eaves line.

The eastern projection has one larger Gothic-arched timber window, a 6-pane fixed light with intersecting glazing bars to tracery lights, newly installed as a replacement for a damaged original. The south side wall contains two small Gothic-headed timber fixed light windows, matching those of the porch: one lights the chancel and one lights the sacristy accommodation. The north side wall has one similar small window to light the sacristy, with a rectangular doorway to its left; the door has not yet been fitted.

The church is set back from the main road within its own grounds. The churchyard is laid out with graves in grassed areas surrounding the building. A short driveway leads from the main road to the front of the church, with a path running around the perimeter walls; modern concrete kerbstones are being laid to the paths and the surface is not yet finished. The ground slopes up from the south-side path to grassed banks. Mature yew trees stand around the churchyard. The memorials present are of no special architectural interest, with the exception of one cross slab of local historical interest to the parish: that of Reverend John McAreevy, who died in 1868, formerly positioned against the front wall of the porch and previously mounted on a rough stone front atop a white painted stone pedestal in front of that. The rear and side boundaries are formed by hedges. The front boundary has been recently altered with the gateway set back toward the church; new boundary wall sections are of concrete blockwork, not yet rendered. Gate piers are constructed of red brickwork with yellow brick dressings to the corners; caps have not yet been reinstated and gates have not yet been fitted.